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Report: Ryan works phones to conservative pundits

By MAGGIE HABERMAN

09/28/2012 10:36 PM EDT

Robert Costa scoops on Paul Ryan working the phones to try to tamp down some of the unrest among the conservative media about the GOP ticket:

In the past week, the Republican veep has called several conservative commentators. In those conversations, he has expressed confidence about the Republican ticket’s chances, fielded questions, and asked for frank assessments...

...Sources close to the Romney campaign tell National Review Online that Ryan has reached out to George F. Will, the Washington Post columnist; Paul Gigot, the editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page; and CNBC’s Larry Kudlow, among others.

He has acknowledged, per Costa, some "missteps" by the campaign, which is one of the most interesting elements of the report.

As Jonathan Martin wrote a few weeks ago, Ryan's cultivation of conservative writers and opinion-makers helped cement his rise in Washington, and so it's no surprise that he is the one reaching out - his relationship with them is far stronger than Mitt Romney's. Many have been instrumental in Ryan's career, and would be again if he were to return to Congress after election day.

In the meantime, if they toned down some criticism, it would be a victory for Ryan.